Spring is in the air and between sneezes, I”ve been thinking of ideas to share, people to meet and products to discuss. I recently gave a speech titled, It’’s Not Easy Being Green, or is it?. In it, I describe some of the big and little steps that we can take toward being more green, organic and sustainable.
The little steps I will tag as Baby Steps. These are actions or choices that involve minimal effort and/or cost.
The bigger steps I will tag as Big Steps. These often involve more forethought and a more than nominal investment in time and/or funds.
Our babies grow and change right before our eyes as they develop through big and little steps. In the same way, we can create a safer, healthier environment to support their rapid growth and our family’’s overall well-being.
Drop us a comment to let us know what steps you have taken recently.
Enjoy!
Ms. Sandbeck introduces her book with some disturbing news such as the 1998 Chemical Hazard Data Availability Study conclusions:
Of the 3,000 chemicals that the US imports or produces at more than 1 million lbs/yr, a new EPA analysis finds that 43% of these high production volume chemicals have no testing data on basic toxicity and only seven percent have a full set of basic test data.
She points out that innocent until proven guilty seems to be the way chemical usage is addressed in the United States. “Only chemicals that have been proven dangerous beyond a reasonable doubt are removed from the market.” After setting the stage for why organic housekeeping is worthy of serious consideration, Ms. Sandbeck, quickly moves into practicalities.
Rare is the person who really enjoys doing housework. Chemical concoctions were supposed to provide the happy homemaker with quick and easy solutions to help her breeze through these mundane duties. However, as our homes continue to fill with more and more stuff, finding the surfaces that need to be cleaned is our first challenge. Thus, organizing and de-cluttering make up the first chapter in Organic Housekeeping.
After rediscovering our household surfaces, closets, and cabinets, we next work chapter-by-chapter through each of the major rooms in a house from the kitchen through to the bedroom learning very practical techniques to efficiently clean, disinfect, and maintain our home”’’s health and by extension protect our family”’’s health. It was a relief to learn how vinegar rather than expensive and fancy store-bought petroleum-based concoctions can be used throughout the house to effectively and simply clean.
As more and more of us learn to live with asthma, allergies, and autoimmune diseases, reducing or eliminating triggers, disruptors, and irritants from our indoor living environments will continue to grow in importance. Organic Housekeeping introduces a post-chemical-revolution generation to cleaning and sanitation techniques that are not only safe for the home and the people in them but also safety to the planet as a whole.
Hunt out a copy from your local library to learn more!
Garden Squares
It is February which means it is time to plan what to grow this year. Here are a few relatively easy suggestions to promote healthy home and body care.
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If you start now (or real soon), you can get many of these going from seed, a much more economical investment than starting with plants. Of course, one fruitful tomato plant will more than earn its keep and that of the other plants as well.
On a tight budget, and who is not these days? Try container gardening by reusing household containers (yogurt, milk cartons, those blue mushroom baskets…). If you have never gardened, the important part is to just try it! But, start small – even a few basil leaves or a tomato or two can be counted a victory! A few seed packets and a big bag of potting soil should be expense enough to get started.
Check out the local library for some great books on seed starting tips, organic gardening advice, and container gardening ideas. Here are some resources to get you started:
Mail-order seeds – The Oldest Seed House in America – D. Landreth, loofah seeds from Local Harvest
On gardening – Square Foot Gardening website and thanks to Amazon, I am able to show you some of the books that I found helpful by creating a personalized Gardening Bookstore. However, I still strongly recommend that you check out your local library for these and other great books!
Hmm, how to sustainably maintain baby smooth legs? This is the question I asked myself not long ago. I gave up using disposal razors a while back when my husband switched to a long lasting safety razor. Previously, we would split a package of replacement razor heads. Buying a package only for myself just wasn”t an expense that I could enjoy, but you can read more on that story here.
Not daring to bare hairy legs, I switched to using those cream hair removers. That, of course, was before beginning my quest for sustainable choices. So, with my cream hair remover nearly used up, and a longing for those smooth summer legs – must be due to winter blues – I began searching for a solution that didn”t involve disposable razors or harsh, smelly chemicals. That’’s when I read about using a simple sugar solution to remove hair. Organic Beauty
Come on, sugar to remove hair?!
Humph! I headed to my local organic grocery story to see what options they might have. Lo and behold, I find a package of MOOM! What is MOOM? Well nothing other than a sugar based hair remover enriched with Chamomile, Lemon Juice, Water and Tea Tree Oil! So, I picked up the Classic Hair Remover Kit which came with everything I would need to give sugaring a try.
I didn”t think “shaving” could be an enjoyable experience. Using MOOM, I”ll have to admit I had fun. Maybe it was the sticky, sugary treat for my legs; or maybe it was knowing that I was using something natural and organic! I”ll definitely try this again. Check out MOOM for yourself at your local natural foods store or visit them online.
Anti Striae stretch mark prevention cream by Mommy Care Skin Care Products. This unique cream uses bio technological processes to increase the flexibility of the skin during pregnancy to prevent stretch marks. Striae is enriched with Vitamin E and contains completely natural active ingredients – phytosterol (herbal hormones) formed in butter produced from the Shea nut that grows in Africa and Avocadin.
This advanced skin therapy is also known to greatly reduce the appearance of wrinkles.
Stretch marks are a form of scarring on the skin caused by tearing of the dermis, and over time can diminish but never disappear completely. They are the result of rapid stretching of the skin associated with rapid growth or weight gain (pregnancy).
They first appear as reddish or purple lines, but tend to gradually fade to a lighter color. The affected areas may appear depresses or have a smoother texture than the surrounding skin.
Anti Striae stretch mark cream by Mommy Care helps to prevent stretch marks.
